Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's chest and Internal Medicine consultation clinics, and in private internist clinics in Kirkuk City, Iraq between January and April 2023. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI-COPD) measured the Burden of COPD. The symptom burden was assessed by the COPD assessment test (CAT). The level of IL-6 monoclonal antibodies was measured via a Roche Cobas 6000 analyzer and TNF-α using the ELISA sandwich technique. All these devices and machines were authorized by the Ministry of Health, Iraq. Results: The mean age was (54.1 ± 8.12) years, 62.5% being males and 37.5% being females; 41.7% were public sector employees, and 39.2% were self-employed. Due to COPD, the overall work loss was (45.9±18.91) days, the mean percentage of absenteeism was (10.9% ± 12.31%), activity impairment was (47.5% ±17.79%) among all patients, presenteeism was (40.8 ± 15.05%,) and COPD-related retirees were 14.2% of the study group. The mean CAT score (19.3±5.63) was high and the most troubling symptom among patients was chest tightness. WPAI-COPD scores were higher in older age and longer disease duration. The levels of biomarkers were above the reference ranges, the mean IL-6 level was (69.4 ± 35.29) pg/ml, and the mean TNF-α was (72.3 ± 22.45) pg/ ml. Conclusions: COPD patients exhibit a disease burden in terms of productivity loss at work and activity impairment that increases with aging and disease duration. COPD patients with low BMI are more prone to a decline in lung functions and to worse symptoms.
This study aims to study the effect of gout disease on complete blood picture and biochemical parameters and some non-enzymatic antioxidants, some tracing elements and lipid peroxidation ,in outpatients with gout disease at Al-Ramadi Teaching-Hospital ,Al-Razi Hospital and the study duration from Octo.2013-to May 2014.(50) blood samples were collected from patients with age groups (30-80 years) from both sexes (28 males,22 females),a (30) blood samples (15 males,15 females) were collected from normal individuals as a control group with age groups (27-75 years). Hematological measurement showed no significant differences in size compressed blood cells, the percentages in ( 45.15 +4.99 and 46.87+6.30) % in patient and control groups respect
... Show MoreAntioxidant status imbalance and inflammatory process are cooperative events involved in type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to investigate superoxide dismutase as a potential biomarkers of antioxidant imbalance, matrix-metaloprotinase-9, and interleukin -18 as biomarkers of inflammation in serum and to estimate the effects of other confounding factors gender, age and finally measuring the relation among the interested biomarkers.
This case - control study included 50 patients, and 45 of healthy subjects matched age –gender were also enrolled in this study as a control group. The focused  
... Show MoreThe study aimed to assess the level of ANG‑2 in MM patients at diagnosis and in remission state and elaborate on its correlation with interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) and beta‑2 microglobulin (B2M) levels. Sixty MM patients; 20 newly diagnosed (ND), and 40 patients in remission were included. Twenty healthy individuals were included as a control group. Plasma levels of ANG‑2, B2M, and IL‑6 were tested by enzyme‑lin ked immunosorbent assay. There are significant statistical differences between ND patients and those in remission in hemoglobin, neutrophil count, blood urea, serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, B2M, IL6, and ANG‑2 (P = 0.001, 0.033, 0.005, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively). ANG‑2 showed signifi
... Show MoreThe research dealt with the effectiveness of prediction and foresight in design as a phenomenon that plays a role in the recipient's engagement with the design, as it shows the interaction between the recipient and the interior space. The designer is keen to diversify his formal vocabulary in a way that secures visual values that call for aesthetic integration, as well as securing mental and kinetic behavioral understanding in the interior space.
As the designer deals with a three-dimensional space that carries many visual scenes, the designer should not leave anything from it without standing on it with study and investigation, and puts the user as a basic goal as he provides interpretive data through prediction and foresight that le
Different Arabic and Islamic societies are free of evil instincts. Therefore, certain provisions of legitimacy came to stress the importance of the intentions of sharia to achieve the interests of all people that involve several aspects, including the five fundamental things: religion, oneself, offspring, mind and money. Almighty Allah has specified certain punishments on those who violate these things by imposing punishments on the part of the criminal to preserve souls. He imposes the penalty of theft to preserve property, the Hadd punishment for adultery to preserve the symptoms, the punishment on the drunk to preserve the mind, and the Hadd punishment for the apostate to preserve the religion. By the adherence to these punishments li
... Show MoreThe formula of Ijarah and Ijarah ending with ownership is one of the investment formulas in Islamic banks, so this research has shed light on it in order to benefit from the experiences of the research sample banks, This research aims to find a reliable way for Iraqi Islamic banks, namely (leasing and leasing ending with ownership) in order to invest their money without usurious interests, The problem of the research emerges through the lack of awareness of the Iraqi Islamic banks to work with different Islamic financing formulas and their inability to invest their money through the adoption of their administrations for different formulas, including the leasing, and this is reflected in the decrease and fluctuation of its profits, Theref
... Show MoreThe antidiabetic thiozolidinediones (TZDs) a class of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) ligands has recently been the focus of much interest for their possible role in regulation of inflammatory response. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of pioglitazone in experimental models of inflammation in rats. The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti inflammatory effect of TZDs (pioglitazone 3mg/Kg) on acute, sub acute and chronic model of inflammation by using egg-albumin and formalin–induced paw edema in 72 rats, relative to reference drugs Dexamethasone 5mg/Kg and Piroxicam 5mg/Kg. In each inflammation model, 24 rats wer
... Show MoreSituational regret and its relation to the vitality of conscience among university students The research seeks to identify situational regret and its relation to the vitality of conscience among university students, identify the significant differences in regard with students’ gender, and identify if there is a correlation between situational regret and the vitality of conscience. To do this, two scales were adopted; one to measure situational regret consisted of (31) items, which was designed by (Al-badrani, 2006), besides, costa and macrys’ (1992) scale that translated in Arabic language by (Al-qaisy, 2013). It composed of (35) items. Total of (120) male and female students were collected from three-different colleges (science, art
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The current study aims to identify agreeableness and orientation towards voluntary work of officials in public facilities, as well as to identify the nature of the correlation between agreeableness and orientation towards voluntary work of officials in public facilities. To achieve the aims of the research, the researchers designed the agreeableness scale, which consists of (28) items in its final form. The researchers also built a scale of orientation towards voluntary work, which consists of (29) items in its final form. Psychometric properties of validity and reliability of the two scales were extracted in various ways. The researcher applied the two scales on a sample of (400) officials, the results indicated that the
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